


The Magic Jersey by Eaglefeather

by 852_Prospect_Archivist



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: First Times, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-10
Updated: 2013-05-10
Packaged: 2017-12-11 03:53:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/793686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/852_Prospect_Archivist/pseuds/852_Prospect_Archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jim can't skate.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Magic Jersey by Eaglefeather

**Author's Note:**

> Being on the ice rink the other day I saw this guy that looked from the back like Blair, just with red hair. It made me wonder what Blair would look like in hockey gear. After I wiped off the drool of my chin, I went home and started to write this. I'm not a good skater myself and though I do love hockey, I'm not too familiar with it. So all mistakes on that behalf are all mine.
> 
> Feedback is highly craved at Iloveblueeyes@anywhereusa.com. Positive, negative whatever. Flames are   
> laughed at and will be deleted immediately. 
> 
> Thanks to my dear friends Rike and Ariane who encouraged me to write more after my first story "How you ever gonna know". You guys are the greatest! 
> 
> And of course, I mustn't forget the best beta I ever had . Hugs and kisses to Mama for muddling through my poor punctuation. I promise that I at least *try* to do better next time!!!

## The Magic Jersey

by Eaglefeather

Author's disclaimer: We all know Jim and Blair and the rest of the bullpen-guys belong to PetFly, not me, sad enough. No copyright infringement intended. No money changed hands. Don't sue me. All I own is a twelve year old car and my computer. The first isn't worth anything and the second - you'll only get over my dead body! ;-)

* * *

When Jim entered the loft he nearly ran into Blair, who was ready to go, with a huge sports bag on his shoulder. 

"Where are you going, Chief?" 

"Skating with the guys from the U," Blair answered. 

"Skating? Did you say 'skating?' Jim couldn't believe it. He shrugged out of his jacket and tossed his keys into the little basket. 

"Yeah, what's wrong with that?" Blair put the bag down, went back into his room and reappeared with a hockey stick and a helmet. 

"Mr. 20-layers-and-still-freezing is doing a sport that requires being on ice?" Jim laughed. 

"Hey! It's no problem as long as you constantly move. Man, that's a fast sport, you don't have the time to feel chilly." Blair tossed the bag back over his shoulder, grabbed the rest of his gear and headed for the door. 

"I never knew you could skate, Chief." 

"Skating, rollerblading, where's the difference? The movements are quite similar. Why don't you come along, Jim?" 

"Oh no! No way! You won't get me to break my neck trying to balance on skates! Go ahead, have fun!" 

"You can't skate, Jim?" Blair grinned "You should try it some time. It's easier than you think" With that he left the loft and left a puzzled Sentinel behind. 

* * *

Blair hung up the phone and looked over to Jim who was sitting at his desk, typing something into his computer. 

"Hey Jim, guess what?" he asked all excited. 

"Your hockey-team participates in the "Just for fun"-city-league, you'll get jerseys of your own from George's Garage and your first match is scheduled for next Friday," Jim said dryly. 

"Awwww, man, sometimes I _hate_ your heightened senses. You spoiled it all!" Blair pouted. 

"I don't need no heightened senses to hear you yelling all that. I'm sure everybody in the bullpen heard it!" 

"So, are you gonna come to watch us play?" Blair asked. 

Simon, who just walked out of his office asked, "Watch you play what, Sandburg?" 

"Hockey" 

Henri stepped from the elevator and dropped a stack of files on Jim's desk. "Who's playing hockey?" 

"Sandburg," Rafe, who had just dropped by, explained. "When's the big game, Blair?" 

"Next Friday! You gonna come over?" 

"Sure! We won't miss that, would we, Jim?" Rafe grinned. 

"Yeah, sure, why not." Jim tried to sound not too interested. 

* * *

For the rest of the week Blair was all bouncy and nervous. He had just played hockey for fun before but now the guys - oops, the team - had to compete with others. By the time they had to leave for the match, Jim was happy to finally get Blair out of the loft, as all that bouncing was slowly getting to him. 

He grabbed Blair's bag. "You got everything, Chief?" 

"Protective gear? Yes. Skates, gloves and pants? In the bag. Jersey? Not yet, so I packed one of my Gretzky-jerseys for good luck. Helmet? Over here. Hockey stick? At hand. Stuff to shower? All packed. Fresh clothes? Yep." He checked the list in his head. "Yeah, I guess that's about it. Let's go, Jim!" 

* * *

Jim entered the arena after he had wished Blair good luck. There weren't too many spectators. Just fellow-students, girlfriends, and family of the players. He spotted the guys from the bullpen and walked over. 

"Has anybody ever seen Sandy play?" Megan asked. 

No, nobody had. So they discussed hockey in general and speculated on Blair's team. Simon went and bought hot dogs and Coke for everybody. 

Then the teams appeared on the ice. As Blair's team skated in, the theme song from Star Wars played over the speakers while the announcer introduced the "Rainier Knights". 

Jim watched fascinated how easily and elegantly Blair skated over to his team. The new jerseys were in a beautiful cobalt blue that matched Blair's eyes perfectly and white stars decorated the lower half. Blair wore his hair back in a ponytail to fit it under the blue helmet. He was the only one in his team with a blue helmet. But with Wayne Gretzky being his idol, he had refused to wear any helmet in a different colour. 

The announcer shouted, "And number 99: Blair Sandburg!" 

Rafe, Henri and Megan yelled, "Sand-burg! Sand-burg! Sand-burg! Sand-burg!" 

Blair turned and waved at them. The sight of Blair in his hockey-gear tugged at Jim's heart. "May the force be with you, knight", he whispered under his breath. 

* * *

The Rainier Knights weren't bad at all. The match was thrilling, energy packed. The Knights fought, scored, the other team scored, the goalies had a lot to do on both sides. There were a couple of fouls, nothing big. 

The detectives of Major Crimes jumped to their feet cheered, yelled at the referee, settled back down, and jumped up again to loudly discuss the moves, with Jim leading the cheer whenever Blair was on the ice. 

When Blair was body-checked badly, Simon and Henri had to hold Jim back from jumping over the railing of the ice rink to fight the other player. While Blair got back to his feet and the other guy was sent to the penalty bank, he gave a "thumbs up" sign to his friends and grinned. 

Even though they didn't make it easy for the others, the Rainier Knights lost 7:5. Blair removed his helmet as he got off the ice towards the locker rooms. He was sweaty and exhausted but happy, his eyes shining, and he couldn't wipe the big grin out of his face as he joked with his team mates. 

Jim sighed when Blair was out of sight. 

* * *

They waited for Blair outside on the parking lot. When he showed up, Rafe and Henri cheered and Megan asked for an autograph. Jim put his arm around Blair's shoulders, tugged him near and ruffled his hair. 

"Way to go, Sandburg!" 

Blair grinned and scribbled his name on a piece of chewing gum paper he had found in his pocket and handed it to Megan. 

She took the autograph, pressed it to her heart and pretended to faint. 

They laughed and then Jim took Blair's bag and deposited it on the back of histruck. 

"See you tomorrow, ice-god!" Rafe yelled over as he and H walked to his car. 

"Great game, Sandburg," Simon said, "But if you fake some injuries and not show up tomorrow, I'm gonna have your hide!" He grinned and turned towards his own vehicle. "Come on, Connor. I'll give you a ride home!" 

On their way back to the loft, Blair was very excited. He talked endlessly about the game, explaining his every move to Jim and his feelings while being on the ice and being cheered at, especially after he had scored for the 4:3 lead. 

Jim just sat there, smiling. God, he loved when Blair snapped into hyperdrive. 

* * *

A few weeks later 

Blair wasn't hardly in the loft at all any more. He just rushed in to grab his hockey stuff and headed back out for training or a match. Jim had been to a few of them, saw the Knights lose and occasionally win a game. 

But most of the time he just missed having Blair around. So he was very pleased with the thought of a nice, and quiet evening in the loft, just him and Blair on the couch, watching an old movie and sharing a couple of beers. 

But Blair had other plans. After dinner he jumped up. 

"Come on, Jim. It's time to go!" 

"Where to?" Jim asked. 

"Don't you remember? We're meeting the guys from the station down in Madley Park. The lake is frozen solid and we want to skate. Just for the fun of it. No hockey tonight. Promised!" 

Jim was flabbergasted. "Helloooo? Anybody home? You know I can't skate, 

Chief! What made you think I want to start it now? And by the way, I do not have skates. So - no skating for me. Thanks man, but no thanks." 

"Awwww, Jim, man, this is _so_ not like you. Why does the thought of your being on skates frighten you so much? Okay, you're on water. But it's not deep and it's frozen! I borrowed a pair of skates from a team mate. They will fit." 

After some arguing, Jim finally agreed to at least come along. 

Blair disappeared in his room to change and when he came back he was wearing several T-shirts, a shirt and an oversized hand-knitted sweater over a pair of faded jeans. As he put a big scarf around his neck, he laid his gloves on the back of the couch and then presented a red jersey to Jim who was stepping down the stairs from his bedroom in a very similar outfit to Blair's. He stopped at the bottom of the stairs. 

"What's that, Chief?" 

"My Wayne-Gretzky-team-Canada-good-luck-jersey!" Blair said proudly. 

"I know. You bought it when we were in Toronto last year. But why are you showing it to me? Are you gonna wear it tonight?" 

"No, man, *you're* gonna wear it tonight. It's a magic jersey. It worked miracles on my skating skills. And it will help you, too," Blair said. 

"I'm not gonna wear this, Chief. And it won't help me. I don't believe in those things. How can you be so superstitious?" 

"Believe me, it works!" 

"It won't. I can't skate. And I can't skate with this jersey!" 

"Wrong, Jim. You can't skate _without_ it! Put it on!" 

Jim growled. "No! Everything aside, it's your favourite jersey. You paid 150 dollars for it. You worship this thing! You'd kill me if I ruined it!" 

"You won't! And if you do, hey, we can go back to Toronto and you can buy me a new one!" Blair grinned and Jim got the awful feeling that he wouldn't get out of this skating-thing as easily as he had thought. 

* * *

They arrived at the lake and were greeted by Rafe and Megan, who were sitting on a bench, tying their skates. 

"You finally convinced him to try it?" Megan grinned. 

"Hey Jim, didn't you ever skate as a kid?" Rafe asked. 

Henri and Simon arrived. "No" Henri said, "He was born as an adult!" 

Simon laughed. 

"I just came along. I'll stay here and watch you skate." Jim said stubbornly. 

"No way, man! Put the skates on, Jim!" Blair pushed Jim to the bench, kneeled down in front of him and tugged at his winter boots. Jim removed them and slipped into the hockey boots that Blair had dug out of his bag. 

"Don't tie them too tight, Jim. And put on the magic jersey!" 

Jim just gave him a look. 

"Hey, _man_ , it works, believe me!" 

Blair had finished tying his own skates, got up and walked over to the frozen lake. He held out a hand. "Come on, Jim. You'll like it. I'm sure!" 

Jim got up, straightened and tried to get a feeling for this strange footwear. He stepped towards Blair, reaching for his hand as he stepped on the ice. 

There he stood. Megan skated over. "Looks good, Jim." He made a face. "Now just try to glide, not walk and here you go." 

Somehow Jim managed to take a few steps without falling, though he lost his balance more than once, regaining it in the last second. 

"This way your arms will hurt tomorrow from wiggling them around," Rafe shouted over. 

"You're much too upright on these things, Jim," Blair explained. He got very close, bent down and put his hand in the back of Jim's knee and pushed a little. 

"See!" he said in his guide-voice "And now lean your upper body a little bit forwards, not that much, yeah, that looks good." 

Then he took Jim's hand and started to glide a little. Jim tried to imitate the motion. His movements were a little stiff at first but after a while he started to get used to it. His motions became softer but he still refused to let go of Blair's hand. 

"Hey, Hairboy, come over and look at this!" Henri shouted from the other side of the lake where he, Rafe and Simon were standing. 

"Coming!" Blair shouted back, let go of Jim's hand and speeded over to the others. 

Jim who was frightened by the sudden loss of the only thing that held him on skates, Blair's hand, straightened up in panic, lost his balance and found his lower back side making contact with the ice. 

He howled and swore under his breath. It wasn't so much that the ice was hard and he was sure to have a bruised backside come tomorrow but the embarrassment. There he was, James J. Ellison, Detective first grade, Ex-Army Ranger and not able to keep himself on these stupid skates. 

As he tried to get up, Blair came over. "You okay, Jim?" 

"Yeah, fine," Jim spat as he got up. "But I told you, I can't skate. Now get me off the ice ASAP. I'm done." 

"I told you, you can't skate *without the magic jersey.*" Blair insisted. "Get over there and put it on!" 

"What part of NO didn't you understand, Sandburg?" Jim hissed, made his way back towards the bench and sat down. 

Rafe came to Blair's side. "Leave him. He needs to cool off. Maybe you should try again when the lake's not so crowded any more." 

* * *

An hour and a half later, Jim was still sitting on the bench, watching the others, with his hands firmly tugged under his armpits. The grumpy expression on his face made way for open admiration whenever Blair skated by. He still wore the skates, but never made a single attempt to go back on the ice. 

Then Megan decided it was about time to bring her Australian sun-spoilt bones someplace warm and Rafe agreed. They pulled out their skates, said their goodbyes and left. 

Simon and Henri departed shortly after them. 

Blair skated over to Jim. "I just want to try something I never seem to get right. Only takes a few minutes. That okay with you, Jim?" 

"Sure. I'm not going anywhere!" 

Blair skated to the far end of the lake, made some speed and tried some kind of special turn. As he lost his balance and fell, Jim jumped to his feet. But Blair wasn't harmed. He got up and tried the manoeuvre again. This time he landed on one of his knees and Jim could hear him drawing a sharp breath between his teeth. But he got up again and repeated the turn. 

Jim stood there and then slowly glanced down to the red hockey jersey that was still sitting on the bench. Oh, what the heck, he could give it another try! Nobody else was in sight and if it made Blair happy, he was willing to try it again. 

* * *

Blair was so wrapped up in his little exercise unit that he only noticed Jim when he was already standing beside him. On skates, wearing the red jersey. 

"Hey, changed your mind, eh?" He smiled that 1000-mega-volt-smile that always got to Jim. "By the way, you look great in red! Wanna try it again?" he asked. 

Jim shrugged. "Yeah, I've been watching you guys for nearly two hours now. This can't be so hard to learn." 

"That's the right attitude! C'mon! Show me how you got over here!" 

Jim made a few uncertain steps, slowly finding the rhythm of the movement again and skated over the lake, a little shaky but much better than the first time. Blair stayed close by his side, just an arm's length away. 

"Hey, this is looking good, Jim!" Blair said with a surprised tone in his voice. Then he used his guide-voice on him again. "Just imagine it being 

Wayne's jersey. You've seen him a hundred times. Seen his elegant movements. Now imagine being in his jersey. You can do it. Nice and easy!" 

"Don't distract me, Chief, I have to concentrate on what I'm doin' here!" 

Suddenly his left skate was caught by a rough spot on the ice. He lost his balance and instinctively moved his arm to grab Blair by the sweater as he fell on his back. This caused Blair to fall with him and land on top of him. 

Jim made an Oooof-sound. When he caught his breath he said, "I'm sorry, Chief! Guess, the jersey's not working!" 

He laughed huskily. Having Blair this close was wonderful but maybe _too_ good. It could lead to unconsidered actions. He tried to get up. 

But Blair just laid there, on top of him, hands on both sides of his head, keeping him in this position, staring down at him with the bluest set of eyes Jim had ever seen. 

Slowly, oh so slowly, he saw the face of his friend come closer and closer and then Blair kissed him. 

He closed his eyes, he forgot the ice he was lying on, forgot about his back that should be hurting from the second fall, forgot the world around him. His guide was kissing him. He lightly brushed his lips over his own and pressed them together. And Jim kissed him back with all the feeling he had bottled up for such a long time. 

When Blair drew back, Jim looked up. "I love you, Chief," he whispered. 

"I know, Jim," Blair simply said and leaned in for another kiss. Jim felt those soft lips again on his own and a warm tongue asking for access. He parted his lips, allowing Blair's tongue to slip in and was overwhelmed by that hot, wet tongue entering his mouth, duelling with his own, sliding over his teeth. 

They broke for air and he heard Blair say, "Love you, too, Jim." 

"Chief?" 

"Yeah?" 

"As much as I love to hold you like this..." 

"What?" 

"This is a frozen lake I'm lying on. It's getting just a little cool from beneath me." 

"Sorry, Jim." Blair laughed, got up and pulled Jim to his feet. 

He wrapped his arms around Jim, grinned and said, "I know just the right thing to warm you up, Blue Eyes!" 

As they skated hand in hand back to where their stuff lay, Jim looked down at the red jersey he was wearing and smirked. 

"I told you so, Jim. It works miracles, it _is_ a magic jersey after all." 


End file.
